A man who stabbed to death his ex-wife and her mother received a life sentence at the Old Bailey today.

Sergei Zolotovsky, 44, of Edmonton, north-London, will serve at least 30 years.

Armed with a kitchen knife on August 12 at 7.30am, he lay in wait in Stansfeld Road, Beckton for Svetlana Zolotovska, 40, where he pounced, fatally stabbing her in the neck, chest and stomach as she made her way to work.

Police were led to a house in near-by in Leamouth Road, which was on fire.

Inside on the ground floor they discovered the body of Svetlana’s mother, Antonina Belska, 70, who had come over from Latvia to comfort her daughter during a difficult divorce. She was dead with stab wounds to the chest and abdomen.

A search of the house revealed Zolotovsky hiding in the loft with numerous self-inflicted injuries.

He was found guilty of the two murders after a trial at the Old Bailey in March.

After sentencing on Friday a family member said: ”Our family has suffered indescribable grief as a result of the cruellest murder of the closest and most loved members of our family. We have suffered extreme emotional stress. We are still grieving and remembering the loss of our loved ones every day.”

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Kelly, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “Zvetlana’s family have been devastated by Zolotovsky’s actions that night. They will never get over their loss but I hope that they can derive some comfort from seeing Zolotovsky being brought to account for his actions.”

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